Summer Heat
by Xelaric the Nobody
Summary: All Roxas wanted was a simple summer. He takes up a job at Radiant Garden Summer Camp, where his little brother attends. That wouldn't be so bad right? You think being surrounded by little kids would be the biggest problem, but no, not for Roxas. His ordeal is that he's pretty sure he's totally crushing on one of the other counselors. Big time.
1. Chapter 1

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas!" The blond felt a pair of feet come into contact with his back, and then his stomach, as he rolled over. Roxas's six year old brother Sora was giggling as he proceeded to jump on him.

"Get up, sleepyhead!" He shouted, a smile evident in his voice. "Mom says you have to get up and get ready. C'mon, slowpoke!"

The brunet collapsed on his brother's chest, poking Roxas's cheek. The blond slowly opened his eyes and glared daggers at the little boy.

"Shout anything else, and I'll throw you out the window, child," Roxas grumbled as he strained a smile. Sora's poking gradually stopped as his lower lip jutted out, pouting.

"But it's the first day of summer camp, Roxy!" Sora whined, and the blond cringed at the nickname.

The six year old slid off of his brother's chest. Roxas rubbed his eyes as he sat up to look at Sora. His big, ocean blue eyes stared back at the teen's. Sora's brown hair was sticking out in gelled spikes, and he looked dressed for the day ahead in khaki shorts and a plain red t-shirt. No doubt their mother had gotten him ready while Roxas was still passed out. The blond turned his head to look at his alarm clock. It read 8:17. Roxas looked back at Sora.

"What time do we have to be there by?"

Sora knit his eyebrows together, pouting in thought. "Uh...I forgot. But mommy knows."

Roxas stood up, stretched, and ruffled his little brother's hair lightly while Sora whined about him messing it up.

Their mother, Belle, had killed two birds with one stone this summer by getting Roxas a summer job and getting Sora to go to a summer camp. Their mom was good friends with the camp director and had put in a good word for Roxas. He was so happy he didn't have to work in his parents' book shop again. He hadn't really minded it the first three summers, but being cramped up in the humid little store for one more summer would have probably drove the blond insane. Lucky for him, his and Sora's older brother, Cloud, had miraculously agreed to man the shop at times when their parents couldn't.

Sora scampered out of Roxas's room, calling to their mom that Roxas was awake. She responded by telling Roxas to hurry up and get ready or else they'd be late. He rolled his eyes. Not even bothering to take a shower (he'd take one later, alright?), he changed into a plain white muscle shirt, a pair of light skinny jeans, and his red Vans sneakers. He evaluated himself in the mirror, and after gelling up his bed head, deemed himself presentable. And with at, he slung his pre-packed duffel bag over his shoulder and made his way into the kitchen.

Sora sat at the table. He was animatedly eating a bowl of some sugary cereal as he kicked his too short legs, sitting on a too tall chair. Roxas pulled a (far less sugary) box of cereal from the pantry and sat across from his brother.

As they ate, their mother walked in with Sora's duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Her chocolate brown eyes took in the sight of her two boys, and she smiled.

Roxas glanced at the clock and almost shot straight out of his chair. Placing his bowl in the sink and shoving the cereal boxes back in the pantry, the blond told his little brother to hurry it up and grabbed his car keys. Sora followed his brother's example and dropped his bowl in the sink with a loud _clunk_ , as he couldn't properly reach.

Belle handed Roxas Sora's bag while he slung his own over his shoulder. The little brunet slipped on his bright blue flip flops. He ran over to their mother and hugged her legs.

"Bye, mommy!" Sora giggled. "I'll make sure to call you and daddy goodnight, and I'll call tomorrow—oh!" Belle had scooped Sora up and planted a big kiss on his cheek. He giggled again and hugged her tightly. She set Sora down and, before Roxas could protest, gave him an equally motherly kiss on his cheek.

"Mom," the blond groaned. "I am seventeen years old. I do not need my mother to kiss me goodbye."

She rolled her eyes. "Love you too, sweetheart."

Roxas made to step away, hesitated, and then quickly kissed his mom on the cheek. He hitched the two duffel bags up on his shoulder and led Sora out the front door. Their mom called farewells to them from the porch as they settled into Roxas's hand-me-down car. The brothers waved to Belle as the blond backed out of the driveway.

The car ride wasn't as long as Roxas expected it to be. The camp was only an hour away from where they lived, but the ride was only forty five minutes without traffic.

The trip consisted of Sora singing loudly (and very off key) to songs from the kiddie shows he had watched 300 times over. Roxas almost immediately regretted putting the CD on, but there was no possible way to refuse his little brother's puppy dog eyes. So he spent those forty five minutes listening to (and sometimes singing along) with Sora.

By the time they had finished listening to the CD a second time, the brothers had arrived at Radiant Garden Summer Camp. Roxas slowly pulled into the little parking lot to the right of the entrance. When he killed the engine, Sora immediately began to wrestle with his seat belt and made to reach for one of the duffel bags.

"Whoa, hey, little dude." The blond got out of the car, walked around to Sora's side, and helped him out of his booster seat. Sora immediately snatched the strap of Roxas's bag, and the blond chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Leave that here for a sec," Roxas said and he jutted his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to what he assumed was the main office building. "We gotta check in first with Mr. Fair."

Sora sighed over-dramatically and hopped down from his seat. Roxas closed the car door behind him. The little brunet tugged at his older brother's shirt. Roxas sighed, held out his open palm, and Sora grasped it as they walked towards the office.

As they walked through the door, Roxas sighed in relief as the air conditioner hit him. It was a good 80 degrees outside. It wasn't a smart move to wear jeans and closed shoes. Nice job, Roxas.

No one was at the desk, and the blond peered around "Hello?" He called. "Mr. Fair?"

Suddenly, Roxas heard footsteps, and an older man appeared from the doorway behind the desk. His kind smile reached his sky blue eyes. He had laugh lines on his face and closely cropped black hair. The man sported a Radiant Garden Summer Camp t-shirt and khaki shorts.

Sora instantaneously hid behind Roxas's legs as Mr. Fair looked down to him and smiled. "Hiya boys! You two must be Roxas and Sora. Your mother has said many great things about the both of you." He held out his hand for Roxas to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you both!"

The blond seventeen year old had flushed at the compliments their mother had given him, and returned the handshake. "Same here, Mr. Fair."

The older man waved his hand as if to dismiss something. "Please, you boys can call me Mickey." Roxas smiled at how casual Mr. Fair—ahem, Mickey—was.

Sora was still hiding behind Roxas. Mickey came around the desk and crouched in front of the little boy. Sora attempted to hide his face more into the back of his brother's leg, but kept an eye on the camp director. The man offered a soft smile.

"Hiya, Sora," Mickey greeted him softly. Roxas's little brother chanced scooting away from behind his wall just a little bit. He looked up at Roxas, and the blond nudged him lightly with the heel of his foot.

"H-hi, mister," Sora mumbled. He quickly ducked back behind Roxas's legs again, hiding his face from Mickey. The older man rose to his height and shrugged his shoulder a bit at Roxas, as if to say "It's a start". He walked back behind the desk and pulled what looked like a spare key on a lanyard to something from a drawer.

"Here ya are, Roxas," Mickey chimed as he handed him the key. "That's your key to the boys' cabin. The girls have their own cabin across the path from yours. My daughter, Xion, would more than likely be willing to show you two around. If not, I'm sure someone else wouldn't mind. I'll be here for a little bit longer if you boys have any questions."

"Alright, thank you, Mr. F—Mickey," Roxas nodded as he gently nudged Sora out of the building. The two made their way back to the car, but before they could, a girl with short black hair spotted them and waved to them.

Roxas stopped in his tracks. He wasn't sure if it was the summer heat or not, but he thought he was blushing.

The girl—who he assumed to be Xion, as she looked similar to Mickey—had a slim build and pale skin, with midnight black hair and shockingly electric blue eyes. She wore a plain black tank top, white flip flops, and blue denim shorts that went down to her knees. Xion was obviously very pretty. Roxas swallowed hard as she stepped over to the brothers.

"Uh, hi," Roxas stammered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You're Xion?"

"Yup," she smiled at him. "I'm guessing you're Roxas, and he must be Sora. Welcome to Radiant Garden!"

"Th-thanks." Roxas wanted to hide. He was pretty sure Xion could read his mind at that moment, and Roxas didn't feel like making an ass of himself in front of a pretty girl. He was about to ask if she could possibly show him and Sora around the camp when he heard someone greet Xion from behind him. He turned to see who the hell had interrupted his chance to talk to this living, breathing deity, but Roxas immediately took back what he thought when he saw the source of the voice.

This guy was quite the sight; two little kids (who Roxas guessed were campers) clung to his lanky limbs and giggled. He didn't look amused, and his leaf green eyes reflected his mood. Purple teardrop shaped tattoos brought out the green of his eyes and accented his brightly dyed red hair. His spikes seemed to defy gravity, and in that moment, Roxas's mouth went dry. Forget thinking of Xion as a deity; this man was _clearly_ from some other realm way above that of humanity.

"I could use a little help getting these _monstrosities_ off of me," Unearthly Green Eyes sighed as the kid on his leg only clung tighter and giggled. Xion only rolled her eyes as she walked over to help disentangle the little boy from his leg and the little girl from his back. The two kids stood off to the side of Unearthly Green Eyes, but their little attention spans quickly changed tracks when they both laid eyes on Sora.

The little boy, who's hair was silver and his eyes a pretty shade of sea green, pointed at him. "Hey, Kairi, he's a new camper!"

The little girl, now named Kairi, blinked her violet-blue eyes and smiled brightly at Sora. "You wanna play with me and Riku?"

Sora looked up at his older brother for an okay. Roxas nodded at him and nudged him forward towards the other two kids who were about his age. Kairi and Riku didn't even hesitate to grab a hold of each of Sora's hands as they tugged him away from the counselors.

"So, you must be the new guy." Roxas tore his eyes away from the shrinking figure of his brother, and was meet with the face of Unearthly Green Eyes. Roxas was pretty sure he audibly gulped. "What's your name kid?"

"R-Roxas. Roxas Strife, mister, uh..." _Way to go_ , the blond mentally slapped himself upside the head. _That is_ totally _the way to go about talking to a hot stranger._

"The name's Axel, got it memorized, kid?" The blond nodded vehemently in response, pressing his lips together to keep him from saying something extremely dumb. He also prayed to those gods on the same plane as Axel that he couldn't see just how red his face was.

"Let me show you around, Roxas." The blond in turn bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from shouting at the sound of Axel saying his name. He only nodded in response and trailed behind the red head who, Roxas could've sworn, had a smirk on his face, leaving Xion forgotten.


	2. Chapter 2

Roxas followed behind Axel, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He really, really did not want to say something so idiotic that Axel would avoid him for the two weeks the camp was running.

The blond had been so lost in his train of thought that he hadn't noticed that the red head had stopped in front of him. Roxas walked straight into his back before he could stop himself, and he decided that right then and there would be a nice time to crawl into a hole and die.

Roxas jad started to ramble. "Shit-oh my god, I-I'm sorry-"

"Chill out, kid." Axel rolled his eyes playfully. "You're so uptight, take it easy."

Roxas nodded fervently and avoided all and any direct eye contact with the red head. Axel lifted a hand and gestured to the building in front of the both of them.

"This is where you'll be staying. Along with the other guy counselors and the little kids." Axel explained as he stepped into the cabin. Roxas followed.

The cabin looked bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. There were a few single beds lined against the wall to the left, two dressers against the back wall, and scattered through the room were tables and chairs and the like.

"This is were we'll be staying, and upstairs," Axel pointed to the ceiling with his index finger. "That's were the little kiddies stay."

"Right," Roxas replied as Axel made his way out of the cabin. The blond scampered behind him and stuck close to him as they passed what looked like a rec hall. As they kept walking, a pool came into view behind the hall. There were quite a few campers swimming, and Roxas noticed that the lifeguard on duty didn't look too happy.

"Hey, Hiro, stop messing with the filter!" The lifeguard called to a little boy with messy black hair. He grinned sheepishly, and Axel rolled his eyes.

"That kid is always messing around with things," He mumbled to Roxas. Then, the lifeguard caught sight of Roxas's red headed companion.

"Hey, Axel! Is that the new guy?" The lifeguard-who's hairstyle made Roxas believe he had come straight from the 1980s-waved at Axel. Axel waved back, his lips splitting into a grin.

The red head leaned his arm on Roxas's shoulder. "You bet, Demyx!" He called back to the dirty blond. "This here, is Roxas."

Demyx smiled and waved at Roxas, who in turn, gave a half-hearted wave back. "Nice to meet you!" Roxas offered a sort of smile, as he felt like anything that came out of his mouth would sound stupid to Axel.

 _What the hell are you worrying about, Roxas?_ He asked himself. _Axel is just a guy like you. A very,_ _very handsome guy, but still just a guy. Ah, shit._

Roxas covered his face with his hands and let out a frustrated groan. Axel quirked a brow.

"You alright there, Rox?" He asked and the blond mentally cursed.

"Yeah, yup. Just peachy," Roxas replied as he got his shit together. Which was a lot harder than it seemed. "So, uh, what do the kids do around here?"

"Well," Axel started, furrowing his brow in thought. "Usually in the morning, there'll be something for the kids to do in the rec hall, like a craft or something to that affect. In the afternoon, the kids usually just run around outside, playing tag or going in the pool. Then after dinner, we have a capture the flag game. After that we have a campfire with s'mores and all that stuff. That's about it."

"Huh," Roxas grunted. "Sounds like a pretty good day for them then."

The red head huffed. "Not for me. Those kids think I'm some sort of freaking jungle gym. They climb all over me."

Roxas chuckled and tried to smother it behind his hand. Axel shot him a look that said "if you don't shut up, I'll throw you into the pool". And so, the blond choked down his laughter.

Axel sighed and pulled his phone from his back pocket and checked the time. "Why don't you go bring in your stuff? It's almost dinner time. Xion, Dem, Larxene, and I have to go gather up the kiddies. Just meet us all back at the mess hall."

Axel pointed to a small, house-like building that was in the far corner of the campsite. Roxas nodded and swung his key ring around his finger, turning to walk back to his hand-me-down car.

He started whistling one of those songs he and Sora had sung on the way down, and Roxas kept trying to whistle something that wasn't meant for five year olds. He gave up trying to whistle anything and grabbed his and Sora's bags out of the car. Roxas started to make his way back to the baby blue painted cabin.

Roxas walked into the cabin, and deemed that the bed closest to the door and the bed furthest from the door had already been claimed by Axel and Demyx. Roxas laid his bag on the bed that was second closest to the door and proceeded to go up the stairs.

Up there, there were bunk beds lined up against the side walls, with three or four dressers against the wall that Roxas was facing. He glanced around, standing on his tip toes to get a better look at the top bunks, but most of the beds on the right wall seemed to be taken. Roxas knew Sora would've wanted a top bunk, and got lucky when he found an unoccupied bed on the opposite wall. Roxas hoisted Sora's colorful duffel bag over the railing, and made his way downstairs and towards the mess hall.

He was greeted with the sound of obnoxiously loud children, and the smell of food. Roxas's stomach growled ever so loudly, and that was when he realized just how hungry he was. He hadn't really had anything substantial to eat since breakfast that morning (unless you count chips in the car as "substantial").

"ROXY!" The blond winced as he heard his little brother call his stupid nickname. He was waving enthusiastically with both hands over his head. Roxas had no choice but to head over to the little bundle of energy.

When he got over there, Sora seemed to be bouncing. "These are my new best friends! Riku and Kairi!" Roxas recognized them as the two campers who were climbing all over Axel when he had first met him earlier. He chuckled at the three of them.

"Well, that's very good," Roxas smiled. "But I need to get some food or I'm gonna starve."

"Are you going to come back and sit with me and Riku and Kairi?" Sora asked, pulling a puppy dog face.

Roxas glanced at his little brother. Then, he caught the color red at the corner of his vision and turned to glance in that direction. Axel was sitting at a table on the opposite side of the room with Xion, Demyx, and who he assumed was Larxene, as Axel had mentioned her earlier. Her green eyes flashed between the two other male counselors at the table, and her blonde hair was slicked back against her head, except for two strands that stuck up from her head like anntenae. Her features where sharp, and she had this deadly kind of aura surrounding her. Roxas noted to stay away from Larxene.

Xion looked in his direction and waved in Roxas's direction. "Hey, Roxas! Why don't you sit with us?"

Axel and Demyx turned to look over their shoulders at the blond. Demyx smiled and waved, while Axel gave him a smirk. Roxas's stomach flipped.

"Yeah, come sit over here!" Demyx called as he stopped waving enthusiastically.

"Alright, alright," Roxas smiled as he waved his hand. "Just let me get some food first, I'm seriously starting to think my stomach is eating itself."

The other counselors waved him off, and Roxas grabbed a plate, starting to pile food onto it. There was pretty much just about anything; mostly meals that you would see at barbecues. There were trays of hot dogs and hamburgers and the like. When Roxas was satisfied with the amount of food on his plate, he returned to the table where the other counselors sat.

When he stood off to the side of the table, he realized he had two options; either have the pleasure of sitting next to Larxene, or be a blushing mess and sit next to Axel. Roxas decided to take his chances and plopped down next to Larxene.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Larxene looks less than pleased to be sitting next to him. She looked as if she were going to snarl at him, but Axel put his hand down on the table, just loud enough to grab the counselors' attention. Larxene narrowed his eyes at him.

"Larxene, you know it's not nice to pick on the fresh meat." Axel pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows, tone of voice sounding as if he were scolding a small child. Larxene's eye twitched, as Roxas slowly brought food to his mouth and watched the show unfold. Xion sighed.

"Don't tell me what to do, asshole," she retorted as she rolled her eyes.

The redhead gasped mockingly, covering his mouth with his hand. "Was that a _curse_ _word_ I heard you utter? Looks like _someone_ has to put a dime in the curse jar!"

Larxene jumped to her feet and slammed her hands down on the table, making everyone but Axel jump back. She leaned over so that her face was barely three inches away from Axel's. Something stirred in Roxas's chest as he realized this.

"Listen, you prick," she said underneath her breath. "I don't need you treating me like a fucking child."

At this, Demyx looked uncomfortable and Xion sighed in disappointment. Axel, however looked unphased, with a smirk tilting up his lips at the corners. Roxas still didn't like the way Larxene believed she was all high and mighty, and that's when Roxas stood up.

"Just leave him alone, Larxene," Roxas huffed, his fists balling up at his sides. His mental note of staying away from Larxene was being totally ignored at this point in time, and Roxas was starting to regret it.

In the blink of an eye, the infuriated blonde whipped around and grabbed Roxas by the collar of his tank, which was not really much to hold on to. She shoved her face far too close for comfort for Roxas, and he gulped nervously. All he could see was the fire in her green eyes.

"I don't need some fucking _middle school student_ telling me what to do, got it, kid?" She snarled in his face. Roxas nodded fervently, trying to control his breathing. He was fucking scared of this stupid blonde with a god complex. Roxas almost felt like crying.

"Hey, Larxene, that's enough." Roxas felt a hand on his shoulder gently pull him away from Larxene's grasp. He looked up to see that Axel's face was set, and his eyes didn't leave Larxene. "You probably scared poor Roxas here half to death."

Roxas had the urge to cling to or hide behind the much taller redhead to his right. Instead, he stared dumbly between Axel and Larxene before she stomped out of the mess hall, muttering strings of curses under her breath. When she was gone, Roxas looked up at Axel.

"Sorry, she's kind of a bitch," Axel shrugged as he clapped Roxas on the shoulder. "Shoulda warned you about her sooner. You alright? You look like you were on the verge of freaking out."

Roxas shook his head, trying to calm himself down. "N-no, I'm fine now. She just caught me off guard is all."

"Riiiight," Demyx dragged out his repsonse. "And Hell has frozen over."

Xion punched him in the shoulder from across the table and he whined about how hard she hit. Roxas looked back at his plate of unfinished food and suddenly claimed that he wasn't hungry.

After that, the rest of the counselors called over the sound of yelling kids that dinner was over and that there would be a campfire in another half hour or so. Axel explained to Roxas that there wouldn't be a game of capture the flag tonight because it was the first night of camp. Roxas nodded and went to go find where Sora had run off to, to tell him to stay away from Larxene at all costs.

Xion came up beside him. "I'm sorry about Larxene. She is such a bitch to everyone, even the kids. She has no filter, I swear."

Roxas shrugged. "Hey, it's not your fault. If Axel hadn't provoked her, that probably wouldn't have happened."

"It was inevitable." Xion rolled her eyes. "But hey, we should probably go help Ax and Demyx with the campfire, they're going to need some help getting firewood."

* * *

Later at the campfire, all the kids sat around with marshmallows roasting over the fire. One of the kids, a little girl with platinum blond hair pulled into a side braid, was sitting towards the front of the group of kids, telling them a story; something with a queen who had magic powers and could create things out of ice. Roxas looked to Sora to find that he was totally entranced by the little girl's story.

Roxas, on some stupid decision he made, was sitting next to Axel. Demyx was on his left, next to him was Xion, and then all the way down the row was Larxene. She kept glaring in Roxas and Axel's general direction. Nearly every time she made eye contact with Roxas, he panicked and grabbed Axel's hand. Which, of course, was really stupid of him.

The first time the blond had grabbed Axel's hand, the redhead had quirked an eyebrow at him and smirked. Roxas had immediately withdrawn his hand and stared off into the darkness of the night, blushing uncontrollably. The second time it happened, Axel had followed Roxas's stare to Larxene and he chuckled.

"She's got you scared shitless, huh, Rox?" He mumbled to Roxas under his breath.

Roxas made a frustrated noise and quickly retracted his hand again. "Sorry, it's a force of habit." The blond laughed sheepishly at himself. "I'm a bit clingy."

Axel chuckled as he slung his arm around his shoulders and pulled Roxas in towards him. "I'm a bit clingy, too." And Roxas could feel the vibration of Axel's voice through his back. It made him shiver and blush at the thought of how stupid he was acting.

Then, Roxas felt something drop onto his arm. It was cold and wet, and before he could even comprehend what was happening, rain started to pour down from the sky. The little kids shrieked and giggled in delight, trying to salvage what they could of their s'mores. The counselors jumped to their feet and herded the boys and girls to their respective cabins.

The boy campers scampered up to the upper level of the building, except Sora had walked up to Roxas. Before he could say anything, Roxas cut him off.

"I put your bag on one of the top bunks, but you can always switch with someone." Sora lit up when he heard "top bunk", squealed with delight, and ran up the stairs. Roxas rolled his eyes playfully as he turned to his own bag.

Demyx, Axel, and Roxas were pretty much soaked from the sudden onslaught of rain. Roxas wasn't prepared for what he saw when he had turned around.

Axel's shirtless torso was facing him, and Roxas had half a mind to look away, but not before he saw how his jeans hung low on his hips.

 _Fuck, Roxas,_ he scolded himself. _Stop_ staring _at him, he's gonna think you're weird._

The blond ducked away and rummaged through his bag, the tips of his ears burning. Demyx, too, had started to strip off his soaked clothes, and had lain them across the back of a chair to dry. Roxas had followed suit, and was hyper-aware of Axel's green stare boring into his bare back. With this in mind, he threw a shirt on haphazardly and tugged on a pair of sweatpants.

Roxas dropped his bag on the floor and kicked it under his bed. He took his soaked clothes and laid them out like Demyx had. Axel, on the other hand, had just dropped his on the floor.

"They're never going to dry like that, you know," Roxas mumbled and rolled his eyes as he sat down on his bed.

Axel, with the straightest face ever, replied, "What are you, my wife, Roxas? Nagging me?"

Roxas blinked stupidly as his brain tried to comprehend what Axel had just said. When the gears started going, Roxas felt his whole face flush. He stuttered out (unintelligent sounding) noises as he tried to respond. Axel only threw his head back and laughed.

"You're so cute when you're flustered." He gave Roxas a wink. Roxas responded by rolling over onto his side so that his back was facing Axel.

"Wh-whatever. Don't go saying stupid shit like that," Roxas retorted as he pulled his blanket almost all the way over his head. He covered his face with his hands and screamed internally.

 _What the hell? Calling me his wife, what the hell is his problem?_ Roxas thought. _How can he even do this to me; does he even know how fucking_ attractive _he is?_

Roxas heard the click of a lamp being turned off, and the light behind his eyelids faded. He heard a mumbled "good night, Roxas", but from who, he didn't know.

He relaxed and pulled the blanket down just a bit so that he wouldn't suffocate in the middle of the night. Roxas focused on the sound of the rain hitting the windows and fell asleep in no time.

* * *

Roxas wasn't sure what time it was, but it sure as hell wasn't time to get up.

He wasn't entirely sure what had woken him up: the sound of thunder overhead, or the pitter-patter of little feet against the wooden steps. Either way, Roxas was awake and didn't want to be.

In moments, Roxas felt a little hand on his ar and it shook him. It was followed by a tiny voice.

"Roxy? A-are you awake?"

The blond rolled over to face Sora. He rubbed his eyes and squinted at his little brother. "What is it, Sora? Can't sleep?"

Sora shook his head vehemently and jumped when thunder rumbled over the cabin. He covered his face with his hands when lightning lit up all the windows, and he started to shake.

Roxas stood up and stretched a bit. He dragged his bag out from under his bed quietly, as not to wake the other counselors. He dug around the contents of his bag, scouring for his headphones. Sora was scared of thunderstorms, but could sleep if he was listening to some sort of calming music. When Roxas came up empty, he cursed under his breath.

"I don't think I packed my headphones, buddy," Roxas whispered to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Another roll of thunder shook the cabin. Sora squeaked. His blue eyes started to shine with the beginnings of tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, no crying, okay?" Roxas tried to soothe him, but it didn't seem to be working. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Axel's figure begin to move.

 _Shit, he's gonna be mad_ , Roxas sighed and shoved his bag back under his bed. Axel sat up and slouched over, rubbing his eyes. He yawned and looked at the two brothers.

"Don't like thunderstorms, kid?" Axel asked, his voice thick with sleep still. Sora looked up at him, eyes wide, and shook his head. Axel hummed and shifted himself so that he could reach the little nightstand that sat in between the two beds. He tugged at the drawer and rummaged around inside it, until he pulled out a wire that connected a pair of ear buds. Axel handed them to Sora.

"Now, you take care of those, alright? Those are my only good pair." Sora nodded fervently and thanked him quietly. Roxas handed him his phone, plugged in the headphones, and scampered up the stairs.

Roxas smiled. "Oh, so you do like kids?"

"Shut up and go to sleep, Roxas." He was meant to sound annoyed, but Roxas was pretty sure Axel was smiling. He could hear it in the redhead's voice.

"Thanks, Axel."

"I said, go to sleep."


	3. Chapter 3

When Roxas woke up the next morning, he felt as if he was dying.

He tried to sit up but ultimately regretted it when the world started to spin around him. The blond braced himself against his mattress with one hand and felt his forehead with the back of his other hand. Roxas was pretty sure he was burning up with a fever. He groaned and slowly lay back down, pulling the covers over his head.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Axel called and tore the covers away from him. Roxas covered his face with his hands and groaned again.

"Put 'em back," he mumbled, and a shiver went through his body. Yep, he had a fever. "I'm cold, put 'em back, Axel."

The red head did as he was told, and Roxas looked up at him. Axel's green eyes stared back in questioning. "Hey, you don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?"

Roxas shook his head lazily. The back of Axel's hand rested gently against Roxas's forehead for a moment. "Damn, you're burning up. Hang on, I'm going to get Mr. Fair, I think he's got medicine in the office."

The blond mumbled a response as he heard Axel's retreating footsteps and the sound of the door closing behind him. Then, what sounded like a stampede coming down the stairs made his head pound. Roxas pulled the covers up over his head in response and wished for the world around him to shut up.

Something was poking his back. "Roxy? Are you awake? Do you need me to jump on you again?"

"Sora, go away, I don't feel good," Roxas snapped from under his blanket, but he didn't mean to sound angry.

"I just wanted to give Mr. Axel's headphones back to him," Sora mumbled. "I'll just leave them here then. Oh, and your phone, too. I called mommy, and she and daddy and Cloud say hi."

"Hi," Roxas grunted. He heard the sound of his phone hitting the wood of the nightstand and the drawer opening and closing.

"C'mon, Sora! Kairi's waiting!" The blond assumed that Sora's new friend, Riku, was calling for him.

Sora pulled back Roxas's covers just enough so that his head poked out. Sora planted a kiss on Roxas's forehead and smiled at him. "Feel better, Roxy!" And then he scampered off with the rest of the campers.

Moments later, Axel came back with Mickey trailing behind him. Roxas slowly sat up again, leaning against the headboard. Mickey handed him a thermometer, and Roxas stuck it under his tongue. After a moment, Mickey took it back and glanced at it.

"Gee, you have one heck of a fever," Mickey narrowed his eyes at the thermometer. "Almost 102 degrees. It'd be best if ya rested for today, Roxas."

The blond deflated. "Great. First full day of the job and I have to take a sick day."

"Aw, don't mind it, Roxas." Mr. Fair smiled at him. "You still have two whole weeks, one day off won't seem so bad. You should take some of these."

He held up a capsule of Advil pills and placed them on the nightstand along with a water bottle. "Feel better, sport." And with that, Mickey walked out the front door, leaving Roxas with Axel.

Axel's green eyes darted to the floor. "Hey, uh, I could give you my number, just in case you need anything while me and Dem aren't in here."

"Uh, sure," Roxas blinked and reached for his phone. He unlocked it and handed it to the red head. He typed in his number under a new contact and hesitated when he went to hand the phone back to Roxas.

"Is your wallpaper of you and your little brother?" Axel smiled and started to chuckle. "Oh how adorable."

If Roxas's face were to get any hotter, he felt as if his head would explode. He quipped, "Yes, it's super adorable, can I just have my phone back?"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Axel replied as he surrendered the phone back to the blond. He placed it back on the nightstand. Axel turned and started to make his way towards the door.

"Hey, uh, Axel?" The redhead paused and looked at him over his shoulder. Roxas's hand went to the back of his neck. "Could you keep an eye on Sora for me today? This is his first time away from home and our parents, and since I can't go out today—"

Axel waved his hand to dismiss him. "Yeah, no problem. Don't you worry your pretty little head about him, alright? Just get some rest. And text me if you need anything. I'll be back later."

Roxas nodded. Axel looked at him for a moment longer and then closed the door behind him. The blond grabbed the water bottle and the capsule full of Advil. He took one of the little white pills with some water. He groaned as he lay back and pulled the covers over his head.

Roxas was asleep in no time.

 **XXX**

Axel stared at his phone screen again, but still, no new notifications. He grunted and pocketed his phone for the twentieth time in the past hour. He had left Roxas to rest over two hours ago and hadn't heard from him. Axel bounced his leg.

He was in the rec hall, along with Demyx and some of the campers. Xion was on lifeguard duty today. Larxene was probably in the girls' cabin, doing absolutely nothing to contribute. The redhead rolled his eyes at the thought of it. His green eyes then darted to Roxas's little brother at the end of the table. He was animatedly drawing something on the paper in front of him with crayons. Sitting across from him were Riku and Kairi. The three of them were all smiles and giggles. Axel smiled a bit.

Axel watched as Sora hopped down from his chair, drawing in hand. He scampered up to Axel and brandished his masterpiece.

"Whatcha think, whatcha think?" Sora asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet. He turned it towards himself for a moment and showed Axel again. He pointed to each crudely drawn person in turn. "That's me, that's Roxy, and that's you!"

Axel chuckled. "Oh, really now? Am I really that tall?" Sora's drawing depicted Roxas and Sora to be almost the same height, with crudely drawn Axel towering over the both of them. The sun in the corner had a smiley face, as did the flowers on a strip of green.

"Well, you look really tall to me, Mr. Axel," Sora pouted as he dropped his arms to his sides. His face brightened with a hopeful smile. "Is Roxy feeling better yet?"

"Not yet, kiddo," Axel sighed. "I think he's still resting. But we can go check up on him in a little bit if you want to."

Sora nodded enthusiastically. He looked at Axel expectantly. The redhead sighed again and got up from his seat with a grunt, waving on Sora to follow him. The brunet tugged at his hand, and Axel assumed that the kid wanted to hold onto his hand. Instead, he scooped the little boy up and placed him on his shoulders. Sora giggled, grasping his drawing in one hand and grasping a fistful of Axel's hair in the other.

"Aw c'mon, kid," Axel groaned as he ducked through the doorway and onto the dirt path, making his way to the boys' cabin. "Don't screw up the do."

Suddenly, Sora got quiet and asked, "Mr. Axel, do you have a crush on Roxy?"

The redhead's eyebrows shot up. He chuckled. "What makes you say that?"

Axel felt the little brunet shrug. He started to ramble the way that little kids tend to do. "Roxy told me that he had a crush on a boy once but the boy didn't have a crush on him, and he didn't like Roxy. He had a girlfriend for a little bit too, but he didn't really seem to be happy, and I thought maybe you could have a crush on him so that he could be happy because I think Roxy likes you."

"Damn, you are an observant six-year-old," Axel mumbled under his breath. The redhead stopped in front of the cabin and placed Sora back on the ground. The little brunet stared back up at him, his blue eyes hopeful in that childish sort of way. Axel looked down at him and shrugged.

"Sure, I might have a crush on your big brother," Axel said flippantly. However, as the words left his mouth, he thought about it for a moment. _Did_ he like Roxas? The whole him being a guy thing wasn't a problem, Axel had liked plenty of guys before, one of them being Demyx. His brows furrowed. He leaned down and ruffled Sora's spikes. "Just don't tell your brother I said that, alright?"

Sora giggled and made a motion that looked like he was locking his lips and throwing away the imaginary key. He smiled brilliantly. Axel smiled and opened the door to the cabin. The little brunet ran through the doorway and towards Roxas's sleeping form, waving his drawing in his hand. Axel took a few steps towards the two brothers. Sora poked at Roxas, and the blond groaned, pulling the covers away from his face.

Axel bit his bottom lip when he saw Roxas's flushed face. Sleep still lingered in his blue eyes. His gold lashes gently brushed his cheeks when his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. The redhead looked away for a moment, rubbing his hand at the back of his neck.

 _Fuck, that little shit_ is _attractive_ , he groaned inwardly.

"Axel?" Roxas's voice was still thick with sleep and Axel wanted to bash his head into a wall.

Axel cleared his throat. "H-how're you feeling, Roxas?"

"Fine," Roxas said as he began to yawn. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking up at the redhead. "Is Sora behaving himself?"

"You bet. He wanted to check up on you because he was so very worried about his big brother," Axel replied, faking a pout when he mentioned how Sora was worried. The little brunet actually pouted and folded his arms across his chest, slightly crumpling the drawing in his hand. "He also drew a masterpiece that I think he wants to show you."

Roxas looked to Sora and the little boy sheepishly handed the drawing to his brother. The blond narrowed his eye at it. "Either I'm way shorter than I thought I was or Axel is a lot taller than I think he is."

Axel snickered and looked to Sora. "See, I told ya, kid."

"Hey, I'm trying my best!" Sora kicked Axel's foot, but it was more like a tap. Axel laughed even harder. Sora grunted in frustration and stormed out of the cabin.

The redhead composed himself and placed his hands on his hips. "I better go after the little rascal to see what kinda havoc he's wreaking. Do you need anything?"

"I think I'm alright for now, but thanks," Roxas smiled one of those cute half smiles at him. "But I'll, uh, I'll text you if I need anything. Promise."

Axel's heart fluttered for a moment. "Yeah, alright," he mumbled. He turned on his heel and almost slammed the door behind him.

"Shit, I am _so_ fucked," Axel breathed as he leaned back against the door. He ran his hands down his face. "Holy shit, oh my god."

He stood up and shook his head. He looked around for Sora and saw the six-year-old retreat back into the rec hall. Axel made his way over to the double doors.

Axel had spent a good hour in the rec hall glancing between Sora and his phone. He bounced his leg again.

Eventually, he had stopped checking his phone as Roxas wasn't texting him. Axel couldn't help but feel bad that he was cooped up inside all day; he just wanted to make sure that Roxas was doing alright. That, and Sora's words were starting to sink in with him, now that he could really think about it.

 _Mr. Axel, do you have a crush on Roxy?_

 _He had a girlfriend for a little bit too, but he didn't really seem to be happy, and I thought maybe you could have a crush on him so that he could be happy because I think Roxy likes you._

Axel was pretty sure the blond kid had it bad for him. What between the extreme amounts of blushing and the hand holding at the campfire the night before, it would be kind of stupid to say that Roxas _didn't_ like him. Either that, or Roxas had some serious shyness issues. But Axel didn't think that was the case.

Demyx prodded his shoulder. Axel looked up at him. "Dude, what's gotten into you? You look out of it."

Axel shrugged a shoulder. "I think I might have it bad for Roxas."

 **XXX**

It was getting late. Roxas had lay awake since Axel and Sora had come to check up on him. He had been goofing off on his phone for a good hour or so, but got bored of it quickly. He had brought a book with him, but Roxas couldn't focus on it long enough to actually get through any good chunk of it.

Axel had brought him a plate of food when the mess hall was serving dinner. Roxas hadn't eaten much of it, just picked at it. That was about an hour and a half ago. They had probably played the first capture the flag game and now the kids were probably finishing up their camp fire.

Roxas fought with himself to keep his eyes open. He was beyond tired, quite possibly a little loopy. His headache had been long gone, but he still got chills every once in a while. His face still felt flushed. He was drained, even though he hadn't done much of anything. The blond had taken an Advil recently to help with his fever, but there wasn't much else he could do other than sleep.

Suddenly, the door had swung open, and the campers swarmed up the wooden stairs. Axel and Demyx followed behind them, the door closing when they had entered. Demyx went to his corner of the room and started to change into sweats. Axel had started to do the same. Roxas tried to avert his eyes as the redhead rid himself of his shirt. It didn't really work too well.

"Axeeeeel," Roxas groaned. Axel side-eyed him over his bare shoulder. He slipped on his shirt and turned to face the blond, quirking a brow.

"What do you want?"

"I'm cold."

Axel rolled his eyes playfully. "What do you want _me_ to do about it?"

Roxas yawned. "C'mere."

He rolled his eyes again but did as told. Axel stopped in front of Roxas, placing his hands on his hips. " _What_?"

"Come _here_."

"I _am_ here, what the hell do you want?"

"No, _here_ ," Roxas mumbled as he patted the space on the bed next to him.

Axel flushed. "I _am not_ sleeping with you; you're sick, I could get sick—"

Roxas's lower lip jutted out. "Pleeease? I'm _freezing_ , and you're warm."

Axel caved. "Fine, move over, you dumbass."

Demyx snickered from his corner as the redhead laid back next to Roxas. "Axel, dude, that's so gay."

"Demyx," Axel said in the most monotonous voice he could muster. "I _am_ gay. I was gay for you like two years ago, do you not remember—? You know what, forget it, you're an idiot."

Roxas's head fell on Axel's shoulder as the redhead went to shut off the lamp. Axel snaked an arm around the blond's torso and tugged him slightly closer. Demyx was still snickering.

"Goodnight, you homos."

"Goodnight, you asshole," Axel quipped as he laid his head back. Roxas's breathing was already steady, so he must've been asleep. Axel leaned his head towards the blond's so that his forehead was barely touching the top of Roxas's head. He sighed contentedly, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
